I’m sure Middletown does work very well for lots of students and families. But, I was responding to @circuitrider who asked which places people were comparing Middletown to. And, it was my daughter doing the comparing, trying to find the best college/town fit.
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There is a lot to love about Wes!
Great you prefer NYC and DC for your kids. A kid of mine has lived in DC and the surrounding area for years after college. We enjoy visiting. He enjoys DC but also loved Charlottesville. I just don’t see a need for comparisons because some kids prefer being in a big city for college, others don’t. And the ones that don’t necessarily care about being in the hot spots like NYC, DC, LA, etc. usually do just fine. Many kids and families love theater, museums, etc. but also nature, access to hiking, a smaller community, etc. There is usually access to cultural stuff at most schools. It’s very individual as to what works and it’s all good. For plenty of college kids, Alabama or Michigan is "where it all happens "
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Or, as I saw it put in a social media post recently:
BREAKING NEWS: Some People Have Different Preferences Than You!
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Those were my older kids. Not sure about this piling on. All I said was my S23 loved Wesleyan and was applying but to him (not to everyone on earth) Middletown was a significant negative. He isn’t really applying to other LACs either (other than Amherst which because of UMass and other colleges felt bigger to him). His other schools are (like his siblings’ were) in or near big cities.
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This was where I went wrong; I thought you were comparing apples to apples. Most LACs were chartered in small, isolated towns. Many were under religious auspices and the reasoning went something along the lines of big cities being deleterious to studying.
YMMV?
Yes, hard to compare a place like Wesleyan to a place like NYU. The splitting off to this new thread changed some context I think. Best to you and your class of 23 son, @relaxmon . You never know, might end up at a big football or basketball school if you keep looking around although might not be your cup of tea. 
Now, that is also a fun experience for some kids. It’s all good.
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Plenty of kids care about the type of town or city surrounding their campus. Many don’t want to be “out in the middle of nowhere”. Others want to be able to explore a surrounding city without fearing for their safety (no matter how highly-rated the college is). My D loves being able to walk from campus to the shops & restaurants on the main street part of her college town. Some colleges do a great job involving the town in the school spirit. When driving through, you definitely know that the college is located there, and the town is very excited about it. Others, you would never know a college was there.
As a parent, one of my concerns with colleges located in big, expensive cities, is how much off-campus living costs (as well as the cost of living in general). My niece goes to a college in NYC (not NYU) and pays a heart-stopping amount of rent for an apartment (or rather my BIL & SIL pay it). It will be interesting to see if she finds a job after graduating, that pays enough for her to afford to stay in the apartment.
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Beyond size as defined by enrollment, students may be sensitive to scale in terms of building size. For example, residence halls of more than, say, 150 students may appear unwelcoming to some.
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Location plays into it too. A small school in the middle of nowhere is very different from a small school in or near a large city. Having said that, the visits definitely saw my kid’s preference from smaller to larger.
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Dartmouth’s architecture may also be a contributing factor. A little red-brick goes a long way in a small college. A lot of red-brick in terms of new construction can look monotonous.
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The location of small liberal arts colleges was more about money and land ownership and less about religious affiliation.
My kid was pretty open to looking at most campuses. Some landed in the Yes bucket that were rural, suburban and urban. The only thing '22 wanted was to be within 1/2 hour of a city.
Yes, this is a huge issue. We are full pay. Add on NYC or some other high priced city and you are looking at even more money. Plus, some schools like NYC (not on our list) is right in the center of NYC so kids will be doing lots of city things as opposed to lots of free college things. Two of my nephews went to NYU and it ended up costing a fortune and then some.
Some kids also care about the danger level of a particular neighborhood. Some schools came off the list as it didn’t seem like walking at night was going to be possible as the daytime looked worrisome. We compared actual data on crime just to see. Some were worse than expected a few were better.
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And another important point is that not infrequently the kids end up staying in the area of their college either for a few years after graduation or longer. Both of my college grads are still working in the city that their college was in or near. That is part of my concern for distant schools - 4 years is one thing , forever is another.
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Both things can be true at the same time.
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Absolutely. The idea of your kid needing extra money v. living in a high crime city is different. We took several cities off the list. Just too many other really great options without that amount of violence. Kid wasn’t interested in high crime areas in any case.
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This is an important issue for my D23—she hopes to work in the entertainment (and optimally music) industry after college, and both the ease of staying in the same location after graduation plus the availability of internships during her studies results in some geographic limitations on her search.
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I know someone who did Vandy for the music industry and it really worked for her.
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Belmont is a good option as well.
Oops. Meant to reply to @dfbdfb 
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I think some was how spread out it was, not that I think it is spread out. She doesn’t think Wash U is big. 